Global macadamia prices experienced three consecutive years of decreases post-COVID-19 as consumers had little excess to spend on this luxury nut. Orchard expansions, done en masse worldwide when prices started climbing in the mid-2010s, are adding an additional 10% per annum to global stocks, creating further pressure on the market.
However, demand is recovering and, according to Roelof van Rooyen, director of Global Macadamias, farmers should start feeling some relief this year. “The in-shell market saw much movement at the start of the year, as the Asian appetite was whet by low prices. With these stocks mostly sold for the season, the attention has now turned towards kernel, bringing good demand for this important aspect of the supply.”
But Van Rooyen cautions that prices are unlikely to reach the highs seen in 2018, although farmers
